High Hedges - protecting neighbours against 'hedge bullying'

High hedges have been a cause of many violent neighbour disputes.  News stories tell of furtive homeowners who wield saws and axes at night to fell a neighbour's trees which have been blocking out their light, or perhaps their view.

Action group

Such has been the scale of the problem that an action and support group called Hedgeline was formed some years ago.  It has helped resolve many scores of neighbour disputes - a problem which has become known as 'hedge bullying'.  Hedgeline has also campaigned for improved legal powers against nuisance hedges.  Following five years of lobbying, a law is now on the statute books which gives assistance to victims of high hedges.  Previously, the law treated such problems under the general term of nuisance and 'right to light' which gave very limited rights and remedies.

ASBA Part 8

With effect from 1 October 2004, Part 8 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act came into force.  This introduces a local authority-administered procedure to deal with complaints concerning high hedges.  Under the new regime, an owner or occupier of property may make a complaint under Part 8 of the Act on the ground that the reasonable enjoyment of his domestic property (or part of it) is being adversely affected by the height of a hedge growing on neighbouring land.
The local authority, having first encouraged direct negotiation between the parties, can then decide what action should be taken and, if necessary, a remedial notice will be issued. There will be strict penalties: a fine of up to £1000 can be imposed for people who ignore the local authority ruling.  The local authority will also have default powers to carry out the work and to recover the costs from the owner.
Although the high hedges provisions are now in force,  local authorities are still awaiting regulations governing some of the detailed administrative arrangements (including maximum level of fee and appeal procedures) before they can start dealing with actual complaints.  These regulations are expected early in 2005.  It is thought that the fee will be between £100 and £200.

Rogue hedges defined

A very small percentage of hedges will qualify for scrutiny as most people are careful not to destroy their neighbours' amenity.  Under Part 8 of the Act, before an action can be considered, the hedge must be:
formed wholly or predominantly by a line of two or more evergreens;
rise to a height of more than two metres;
act to some degree as a barrier to light and access.

For an action to be successful, an applicant will need to prove that the reasonable enjoyment of that (domestic) property by a prospective occupier of that property would be adversely affected by the height of a high hedge situated on land owned or occupied by another person.
Part 8, however, does not contain any provisions relating to damage by tree roots as it is perceived that there is adequate protectiona under current law.  Nor will the new law apply to single trees, or hedges that are not evergreen or semi-evergreen in nature.